He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not
by NickyGriffiths
Summary: When Melanie is sent to Camp Green Lake, she didn't know what to expect, yet she finds herself in an adventure of loyalty, sacrifice, and love...
1. The Beginning

**PLEASE NOTE: this is NOT a direct takeoff of HOLES, yes I have seen the movie and read the book. I have added a girl and changed the story. I have slightly changed the setting. I am aware that they are called yellow 'spotted' lizards. U mite call them 'mistakes' but they are not, I just wanted to make this story my own, instead of writing what everyone else has. I got sick of reading the same old stuff so I decided so experiment a bit, add in some INDIVIDUALITY. Please do not flame my story just because I've changes some things.**

**CHAPTER 1**

Melanie stopped outside the entrance of Camp Green Lake. She looked around and studied the Camp closely. It was massive, with barbed wire all around the outside. A path wound through a garden, coming to a stop at the doors. The air was fresh outside and blew her dark curls around her face. Not knowing what to expect, she had dressed casually in jeans and a black hooded jumper with a brown tee underneath. She took a deep breath and pushed open the gates. She stepped through them quickly, closing them behind her and heading towards the doors. No one was waiting for her. As she entered the room, she noticed a desk on her left and headed over to it. A massive broad shouldered man was sitting in a large armchair, watching her. He wasn't overweight, she realised, as she'd thought at first, instead he was heavily muscled and well toned. He had short, dark brown hair and a moustache she automatically took a dislike to.

'Excuse me, but I am Melanie Rogers and I was sent to Camp Green Lake for a misunderstanding with the police. Have I come to the right place?' Melanie asked, even though this obviously was Camp Green Lake.

He smiled, and she realised he was, in fact, rather handsome, not even very old.

'I'm Martin; I'm in charge around here. You take my orders and do them without question. You'll be staying with the boys in D-Tent, you'll meet them soon enough. Here, you are ready at 7:00, 6:30 if you are on duty. Everyone is in bed by 10:00 sharp and anyone found wandering around after dark will answer to me, for punishment. Do you have any questions you would like answered?' Mel shook her head, no. 'you are to address me as 'Mr. Sir' and answer me when I ask a question, is that clear? He snapped. Mel jumped.

'Sir, yes Sir!' she answered, trying hard not to smile.

'This is no game, young lady and one day all our lives may depend on your obedience! Zero is here to show you around. If you have any problems, I'll be here waiting,' Martin said.

Mel turned and looked around, finding a boy of around her age, tall, blonde and blue-eyed standing at a doorway she hadn't noticed before. She smiled at him and introduced herself.

'Hey, I'm Melanie, though my friends call me Mel.' She waited for a reply. None came. Zero started forwards and she followed behind him.

'This is some place around here, am I the only girl?' When no answer came, she continued. 'Are you in D-Tent? Is that where we're going?' she kept asking questions, but still Zero didn't answer. She supposed he was ignoring her purposely. By now, they had passed through a series of corridors and they had begun passing cabins, which were also called 'tents', with timetables and notices stuck on the outside. She almost bumped into Zero when he stopped abruptly and turned to look at her.

'Is this D-Tent?' she asked. He nodded and pushed open the door. Peering past him, she saw a small, very plain room, with one window, barred with iron. Bunk beds were placed along the walls; four in total, and five guys were lounging around the room, some playing a game of marbles in the corner. She noticed that it was spotlessly clean, unusual for a bunch of guys, she thought, smiling to herself. She followed Zero through the door and all action in the room stopped. She smiled hesitantly. No one moved. She cleared her throat and opened her mouth to introduce herself, when a boy, maybe 15 years old, the same age as her, Mel estimated, stood up. He had straight dark hair and stunning blue-grey eyes.

'Hello, I'm Zigzag,' he introduced. 'This is X-Ray, Squid and Caveman,' he said, gesturing to the three guys playing marbled in the corner, each smiling slightly when mentioned. 'Armpit here, well you gotta watch out for him,' Zigzag laughed, 'and Magnet should be back any moment now. You've already met Zero, I see and I guess you've figured out that he doesn't talk? You get used to it.'

Mel smiled, 'Thankyou, I'm Melanie…where do I put my stuff?' She had brought with her a bag full of a few personal items, a picture of her family, her lucky charm, her diary, and a few other personal possessions she had collected over the years.

A voice from behind her spoke up. 'You can sleep in my bed if you want, honey.' She turned around to find a cute guy staring at her, a smirk on his face. This was obviously Magnet. Without replying, she walked over to the bed beside the window, and noticed that the top bunk was empty. She placed her bag on top of it and swung up to sit next to it. 'This will do just fine thanks.' A soft breeze passed through the window, and she placed her back against the wall and flipped open her diary. She needed some quiet time alone to think and write down her thoughts. She wrote:

_Dear Diary,_

_Camp Green Lake is nothing like what I had expected. Martin seems nice enough, though he did seem a little strict. I have to call him 'Mr. Sir'. The room I'm staying in is small, though I got the bed near the window, so that's OK. The air is fresh up here, like at Grammas and I think I'm actually going to enjoy staying here. The guys here seem nice enough though there's one, Magnet…._

She stopped writing when she noticed some one settled next to her. It was Magnet. She sighed. Trouble was coming his way. She looked at him, trying to suss out what he wanted. He smiled at her and stretched his arms, placing one arm around her and drawing her in close. Now she knew what he wanted.

'Hey honey, what you got there?' he asked, reaching past and taking her diary from her. Mel grabbed his wrist and twisted, regaining her book back. She pulled away from him and crossed her legs in front of her, forming a barrier against him with her body. If he tried to reach her, he'd have to get past her legs first.

'Aw c'mon, I was just kidding round with you,' he said. She noticed that the other guys in the room were watching her closely. Time to teach them some manners, she decided. She swung her legs over the side of the bunk and jumped down, landing lightly on the floor. She crossed over to where Zigzag was sitting and placed herself in his lap.

'Just play along alright?' she whispered into his ear. He nodded, a stunned look on his face. 'I have something to say to you guys. I am _not_ your plaything, is that clear Magnet? _I_ will choose what to do, _when_ I want to. I don't want to hurt any of you, but I will if I have to.' She took out her pencil and continued her diary entry. This time she could concentrate – the room was silent.


	2. The Past

**CHAPTER 2**

* * *

She sat up. It was the middle of the night and she couldn't sleep. She needed fresh air, as the night outside was still and no air was flowing through the window. She swung down from the bed quietly and paused, hearing someone move slightly. It was Zigzag. He rolled over and groaned.

'Where are you going?' he murmured sleepily.

'Outside for some fresh air – it's too stuffy in here,' she whispered back.

'I'll come with you, wait a moment.' He groaned and sat up, holding his head. It took him a moment to adjust his night vision and he climbed out of bed. Mel opened the door, wincing as it creaked a little. She slipped through and left it ajar. When they got outside she took a deep breath and felt her head clear.

'So why do they let us go out here at night? Aren't they afraid of us running away?' she asked Zigzag.

'Where would we run to? With no food or water we wouldn't last long. Even if we did have provisions there isn't water within 2 days drive in a car. One guy, he had only just arrived, well he tried to escape. A day later Mr. Sir found him dead. A yellow lizard had bitten him,' he said.

'A yellow lizard?' she asked.

'Yeah. One bite from them and you're gone. It only takes a few minutes for it to start having effects on your body. First, your legs go numb; you can't feel them any more. You can't walk anywhere or run to get help. Then your arms jam and your muscles go slack. Eventually it just shuts down your insides, and stops your heart. There's no pain – it all happens one after another.'

Mel shivered. What a horrible way to die. 'So have you ever seen one?'

He looked surprised. 'Of course. The Warden keeps two in her office. I was sent in there once for fighting with X. She walked over to the cage and just picked one up. It was scary. Anyway they only come out in the heat of the afternoon to sunbake and there shouldn't be any here inside the Camp.' They stared out into the deep of the night, each thinking their own thoughts.

'So why were you sent here? You don't strike me as the type of person to meddle with the law, or do anything serious,' he asked, glancing at her briefly.

'I was accused of stealing a box of chocolates. Of course, at the time I was at home watching TV but do you think they listened? I even told them what had happened in the episode but they didn't believe me. They said I could have just asked a friend. What about you?' she asked him, leaning forwards with interest.

Zigzag hesitated, looking at her. She was so beautiful, her curls falling gently past her shoulders, her face bathed in the moonlight. She had leaned towards her, waiting for an answer to a question he'd forgotten. She drew back slightly and asked again. He blinked. He'd have to tell her the truth.

'I killed my sister,' he whispered, looking away so she wouldn't see the tears forming in his eyes. He heard her gasp and whisper an almost silent, 'what?'

'She was in a lot of pain; she had a rare medical condition that affected her whole body. She was three years older than me at the time and she asked me to put her out of her misery. We had always been close and it hurt me to see her suffering so much, so I did as she said. I slipped a poison into one of her drinks; she knew of it, of course. It was a poison that made the consumer fall into a deep sleep and never wake up again. She had left a note behind, in case what had been done was discovered and I was convicted of murder. The Court didn't really take any notice of it. At the time, I was old enough to be sent here, but young enough that I couldn't get a life sentence. I only did what she asked. She only had a few months more to live anyway, that's what the doctor told us,' he whispered, choking back the memories. 'That was two years ago, and I still have another 18 months to serve. I was sentenced three and a half years.' He looked up at her to find her blue eyes full of sympathy.

'I'm so sorry, I had no right to ask you, you didn't have to tell me all this,' she said, shocked.

Mel's heart went out to him. What he had done was no crime, it was a simple misunderstanding, just like hers, she realised. She put her arms around her and hugged him close. She had seen the tears in his eyes when he had first confessed. He didn't really know what to do – how was she supposed to comfort someone who had been through what she couldn't even imagine?

'I told you because you're the only one who has ever listened to me,' he said quietly. She squeezed him a little tighter and then let go, leaning against him, suddenly sleepy.

'I'll always be here to listen to you, if you ever need someone to talk to,' Mel offered. He nodded his thanks and suggested they go inside to catch a bit of sleep before they had to get up to dig. She followed him inside and even when she was lying in bed it took her a long time before she fell asleep.

* * *


	3. The First Hole

**CHAPTER 3**

* * *

Mel jerked awake to someone shaking her. 

'I don't think she's ever going to wake up, man,' she heard Armpit say.

'I'm up, just wait a minute,' she grumbled, rolling over and snuggling deeper into her pillows.

'Don't think we're going to save some breakfast for you just because you're a girl,' Squid teased. Mel sat upright so fast her head swam.

'Breakfast? Geez, why didn't you say so?' she grumbled. She trailed after them, still yawning when they entered the Mess Hall. She grabbed a tray and lined up behind everyone else, and was surprised when X-Ray made an offer for her to go first. She said thankyou with a quick smile and took her place at the front. She was served a bowl of soggy cornflakes, a glass of milk that didn't smell too good and an apple with a large bruise on the side. Hmm, not too bad, she thought to herself. It could be better, but it could be a lot worse. She waited patiently for X-Ray to be served, unsure where to sit. He smiled at her and led her over to a table at the far end of the hall. Another group of guys were seated right next to them and she noticed more than one of them looking her over as she sat down in between X-Ray and Zero. She listened quietly to them talking, only talking when spoken to or asked a question. She wasn't in a very talkative mood and D-Tent seemed to have picked up on it. She used a knife to cut of the bruised area of the apple and then bit into it.

'Hey why did you cut that bit off?' Squid asked.

Mel was surprised. 'Because it's bruised,' she replied, after swallowing. He reached over and taking it from her tray, popped it into his mouth, smiling.

'It tastes fine to me,' he said. Mel shrugged and pushed her milk aside. Squid drank that too. Mel shook her head in amazement. It was obviously not fresh and yet here was everyone drinking it as if it was the best thing in the world! The bell rang and she looked across to Zigzag questioningly.

'That's the bell that tells us to clear out and get to the digging site,' he explained.

'We'd better hurry or we'll be digging in the hot part of the day.'

When they arrived atthe digging site, they were each handed a water bottle and a shovel, Squid taking one with red tape stuck to the end of it.

'I swear it's shorter,' he told her with a wink. Mel frowned.

'Why does it matter if they're shorter?' she asked, puzzled.

'Because you have to measure your hole first, three shovels wide, five long, five deep,' Armpit told her, passing by. She watched the others for a few minutes and walked over to what looked like a soft part of the ground. Here, the surface was a slightly darker colour than near the others. She stuck her shovel deep into the ground, and found that it gave way easily. She measured her hole quickly and drew a rough line in the ground, outlining where she was to dig. Digging in themiddle until there was a reasonable sized hole, five feet deep, she then began making it longer. Looking across to the others, she noticed they had all dug differently to her, digging along the entire top, but not very deep. She took a few sips of water and laughed when Squid's hole collapsed and the side filled in. Curses filled the air as the others dug deeper, to collapse at the sides. Still laughing, she got back to work on her own hole,but stopped only a short while later when the water truck came around. Mr. Sir refilled everyone's water, X-Ray again offering for Mel to be first, and then sent them off digging again. By the time the truck came around again she was almost finished, and laughed when she realised that everyone else was only about halfway there.

'Whoa, Mel where did you learn to dig like that?' Squid asked. 'Or did you have a shorter shovel,' he added in suspiciously. Mel smiled.

'I found a softer part of the ground, like Zero, and I dug from the middle, so it wouldn't collapse. And trust me, I have never dug like this in my life – look at my hands!' She held them out to him, showing him the blisters she had gotten.

'Hmmm,' he commented, moving away. She returned to her hole and finished just as the truck came back around. There was a new person in the driver's seat and he parked right next to her hole, and he honked loudly when he saw she had finished, giving her such a suprise thatshe fell into her hole.Mel braced her arms onthe edges ofthe holeand pushed herself up, only to fall back down when the side chipped off. Zigzag was the first to reach the truck and laughed when he saw her stuck in her hole.

'Would you mind?' she asked, holding up a hand.

'Aw but I kind of like having you at my mercy,' he laughed, grabbing her hand to help her out. It was warm and calloused, from the digging, and made hers feel tiny. She smiled back and placed her foot at the edge of the hole, and using his hand, levered herself out of the hole. She found herself close against him. She looked up into his eyes, meaning to say 'thankyou' but found that no words came out. His blue-grey were filled with warmth, his mouth still curved in a smile.

'I'll bandage your hand when we get back, otherwise it will be worse tomorrow,' he advised. She mumbled a quick thankyou and handed her bottle to the stranger to refill. He was young, in his late twenties, with an open, friendly face.

'Ah, Melanie Rogers, I don't think we've met before? I'm Mr. Pendanski, the Counsellor; we'll be having a meeting tonight. I'm sure the boys would have told you all about it by now? No? Well come along tonight with the others, it's always so much fun,' he smiled. 'You did a good job with your hole and now that you've finished, you can come back with me, there's no point in you staying out in the sun when you can be back at camp having a shower!' Mel instantly liked this man, he seemed fair, and friendly at the same time. She thanked him and shouted goodbye to D-Tent as the truck drove off.

* * *


	4. The A Tenter

**CHAPTER 4**

* * *

Mel had changed into her bathers and was heading towards the showers when she was blocked by an A-Tenter. He looked to be about two years older than her, she estimated. He was handsome, she decided, with deep set green eyes and curly blonde hair. He had a friendly face, but she was still wary of him. He smiled and she waited to see what would happen.

'I've heard you're the new recruit, just arrived yesterday,' he stated. She nodded, shifting her weight to her other foot, impatient to get to the showers.

'Today would have been your first digging.' What was he getting at? she wondered.

He reached out for her hand, and she stiffened. Seeing her wariness, he pulled his hand back. 'Your hands must be killing you, I only meant to check them – I have some bandages in my Tent,' he offered. Mel relaxed slightly.

'I'm Mel. You are…?'She asked.

'Mark. I saw you wandering towards the showers and realised you must have come back early from the digging. Don't go into the showers with your hands like that, it will makethem worse. If you bind them first it keeps the blisters together until a callous is formed. I learnt the hard way,' he laughed.

'Don't you have a nickname?' she asked, as all of D-Tent had them.

'Oh no, that's just D-Tent tradition. I'm A-Tent. Our tradition is to take turns helping the new person out digging for the first week or so, each of us taking turns. That way their bodies adjust without ruining their hands,' he said, nodding towards where her hands rested.

'Oh. But I promised Zigzag that he could bandage them for me,' she said, before realising how childish it sounded.

'Your boyfriend?' he asked. Mel blushed.

'No, just a friend. I suppose he wouldn't mind if you bound them for me, once I explained things to him.' His smile widened.

'My Tent is this way,' he motioned past the showers. She suddenly realised she was dressed only in her bathers. If she was going to o walking around Camp Green Lake, she should get dressed first. She coughed.

'Do you mind turning around while I quickly get changed?' she asked, after a brief check to make sure no one else was coming around the corner. Immediately he turned his back. She slipped on her jeansand a yellow tee – a spare set she had brought along with her. She tapped him on the shoulder when she was finished and his eyes widened slightly.

'You're not supposed to wear casual,' he whispered, looking around him as if someone would discover them and get them into trouble. Mel shrugged.

'If anyone asks I can just tell them it's for feminine reasons. After all, I am the only girl here. Any questions will stop there.' She followed him through a corridor and faltered as Mark entered A-Tent. She took a deep breath and followed him in. It was empty. She released her breath. It was exactly the same as D-Tent, a little messier but still the same. She sat down on the closest bed and waited as Mark brought out some bandages, a bottle of water and a piece of cloth. She looked up at him questioningly.

'I need the water and cloth to rinse the dirt off, and then I'll bandage it,' he explained. He wet the cloth slightly and took her hand in his, facing it palm up. He gently dabbed it against her palm and she gasped – it stung like hot coals. After he had finished cleaning both hands, he bound them tightly. She curled her fingers and experimented with the limits of the binding. She looked up when he spoke.

'You'd better get going – the rest of your group will be back soon and wondering where you are.'

'Mark?' she asked. He looked at her. 'Thankyou for everything. Will we be able to talk later?'

'Sure, you can come around any time, thankyou for trusting me,' he answered. She closed the door after her, after one last smile at him and hurried down the hall when she saw a group of boys coming towards her in the opposite direction. She turned the corner and entered the shower. After rinsing herself quickly, she dried herself, changed and went back into D-Tent. She took out her diary and wrote another entry in, stopping when Zero entered by himself. She smiled at him.

'Hello. You've finished and had showers?' she asked. He nodded. He walked around and looked up, questionsfilling his eyes. 'My diary,' Mel explained. 'I write my thoughts down in it, and what happens each day. It helps me deal with emotions.' He nodded and sat down watching her as she finished writing. He opened his mouth, as if to ask her something, when the rest of D-Tent came in, talking loudly. 'I'm sorry, ask me later,' she mouthed at Zero. He sighed in understanding and watched with regret as she put her diary away.

* * *


	5. Confessions

**CHAPTER 5**

* * *

D-Tent was in the Mess Hall eating dinner when Mel realised something. She dropped her fork in shock. Everyone looked at her.

'Where's Magnet?' she asked. There was silence at the table. With all that had been happening lately, Magnet had been forgotten.

'Maybe he fell sick,' Squid suggested, though there was doubt in his eyes.

'He would have told me, I'm the leader,' X-Ray pointed out. Mel looked around at the other tables, as D-Tent tossed around ideas. She glanced at the A table and Mark caught her ye. She smiled and looked away.

'Who was that?' Zigzag asked quietly.

'Mark, he bandaged my hands earlier,' she answered lightly, avoiding his eyes. For some reason she felt guilty. She grabbed his hand.

'Look! Why is he sitting with C-Tent?' Everyone glanced over to where she had pointed. There was Magnet, eating his food with C-Tent and laughing at something the person next to him had said.

'Why didn't he tell me?' X-Ray asked to no-body in particular.

'Maybe the Warden swapped him,' Armpit suggested. Mel frowned.

'Who is this Warden?' she asked.

'Shhh. Don't mention her out loud like that. She oversees the Camp. When ever someone does something really bad, they get sent to her and they come back with three purple claw marks right down their face. It burns like fire and doesn't stop until days later,' Squid said knowingly. She glanced at Zigzag, who looked away. Fair enough, Mel thought. She had her secrets, he had his.

D-Tent walked into the F-Tent still wondering about Magnet later that night. Mr. Pendanski beamed at them and ushered them into the room. The fanned out into a circle and sat down on the floor. It was larger than D-Tent, and empty, save for a door at the other end of the room, where Mr. Pendanski sleeps, Mel guessed. She was the last to sit, and sat down cross-legged.

'Well, let's go around the circle. Starting with Melanie, I would like it if you could all tell me how you are feeling. Take it away, Melanie,' Mr. Pendanski said. Mel shifted into a more comfortable position, aware that all eyes were on her. She cleared her throat.

'I slept really well,' she began, glancing quickly at Zigzag and smiling. 'Breakfast was alright, though Squid drank my milk for me.' Squid snickered. 'Digging wasn't as hard as I thought, though my hands are killing me right now, and I had an okay –' She thought of Mark and changed her words '- a really good day. I enjoyed myself.' She noticed that Zigzag avoided looking into her eyes. She'd have to talk to him later, explain things. Everyone took their time replying and when Zigzag spoke, all he said was, 'Today was just like any other day for me,' looking her directly in the eyes. Was he trying to make a point that he didn't care? As the night wore on, and they discussed more personal topics, she found that even looking in his direction was received with a glare. He must have taken the whole Mark bandage thing as an insult. As they piled through the door, X-Ray pulled her back.

'What is going on between you and Zigzag,' he asked, concern written on his face.

'Nothing!' she snapped back, immediately regretting it.

'I'm sorry, I'm just tired. My hands are hurting and Zigzag seems to have a problem with me at the moment. When I got back early from digging, I met an A-Tenter in the hallway and he bandaged my hands for me. But I had already said Zigzag could and I never got a chance to explain things to him,' she confided to him.

'Talk to him tonight, but if that really is the problem then it shouldn't be too hard to set straight,' he said, walking off. What did he mean 'if that really is the problem'? She had said it was hadn't she? But…it was the problem wasn't it? Or maybe it was something more…

* * *


End file.
